


Of Course It's a Dragon

by TouchingOldMagic



Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [12]
Category: Ghostbusters (Comics), Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Bust Fic, Gen, There's a dragon, does this count as epic?, of course it's a dragon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24816706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TouchingOldMagic/pseuds/TouchingOldMagic
Summary: Day 12 of the Ghostbusters 30 Day ChallengePrompt: Epic MomentAn out-of-town bust is the start of a high-stakes adventure.
Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779643
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Of Course It's a Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> In the spirit of IDW adapting some ghosts from The Real Ghostbusters into their storylines, I couldn’t miss the chance to include a dragon in the comic'verse.

"Well there's something you don't see every day."

Peter slowly drew his thrower as the shadow of the large green dragon passed right over their heads. If their arrival in Ecto hadn't alerted it to their presence, probably no other sudden movements would, but he didn't particularly want to take the chance.

"Wow!" Ray said, head craned back to look. "It's gotta be at least twenty feet long!"

"Closer to twenty-five," Egon opined, likewise pulling his thrower.

All four men watched the reptilian creature warily, but it only continued its slow circle above them. Even from a distance its large yellow eyes were visible, but the elevation made it hard to tell if it was watching them or not.

The Ghostbusters had arrived at a construction site in the picturesque Massachusetts countryside. The road curved steeply up around the hillside, a guardrail the only thing between the road and a steep drop down to the valley below. At the top of the hill a home was being built. Currently only the foundation had been laid, outlining what would eventually be a very large manor.

"So someone was building a house and the local fire-breather took offense?" Peter wondered drolly.

Winston shot him a look. "Man, we went over it on the drive up, you'd know if you didn't fall asleep."

Peter shrugged, unconcerned. "It was a long drive."

"The construction workers unearthed what they claim looks like ancient pottery," Ray explained. "Inevitably they broke it when they were trying to clear it out, and once that happened, the dragon and multiple other entities appeared and construction was halted. They said they put it all--oh, over there, I'll bet." He spotted a pile of pale debris under a tree on the edge of the property. Egon was already heading in that direction, PKE meter out.

As if it were a choreographed act, as soon as the two scientists approached the pile, at least a dozen vapor-like ghosts burst from the trees and descended toward them together.

Two proton streams shot out from Winston and Peter, who were used to hanging back and providing cover fire for their science-minded teammates, but the spirits were agile as silk ribbons (and fairly resembled them as well). They curled and dodged around the proton streams, scattering through the air.

"Aren't they usually a little more groggy when they just wake up?" Winston grumbled.

"Took us a couple hours to drive out here," Ray called back. "They must be quick learners."

"Great," sighed Winston.

The swam of ghosts were all similar in appearance. Very elongated, thin and flat like streamers, mostly sickly pink or green or yellow in color. Like banners they floated and waved in the breeze, but they had definitely identified the Ghostbusters as a threat and were arranging themselves to dive down again.

"Here they come!" Winston barked out in warning. Ray had pulled his thrower to help provide cover. Egon, kneeling at the base of the tree, ignored all of them in favor of studying what he found there.

Peter spared a glance away from the swarm, keeping an eye on the dragon to see if all the sudden action had spurred it to change its pattern. It was still circling; maybe it had gotten a little closer, it was hard to tell.

Taking advantage of his distraction, one of the spirits swooped down and slammed into the psychologist. It knocked him off balance and then, apparently inspired by the action, picked him up in a surprising show of strength and chucked him straight at the guardrail on the side of the road.

It all happened too fast for the Ghostbusters to react. In the time it took to gather breath to shout, Peter was over the edge and gone from view.

Ray's mind froze in horror. He didn't remember moving, but suddenly he was there at the edge of the road, clutching the metal railing and calling Peter's name. Winston stood beside him, and the pounding footsteps of Egon were coming up behind him.

Then a strong rush of wind caused all three to shield their faces, and a shadow blotted out the afternoon sun.

When Ray could see again he immediately looked upward, following the feel of the wind as it had rushed by. The dragon was climbing higher skyward, wings pumping steadily, and Peter clung to the stiff ridges that ran along its spine between its shoulders.

"Oh good, he's... riding the dragon." Winston's deadpan voice might have wobbled a little at the end.

Ray whooped in relief, both hands in triumphant fists over his head. "Go, Venkman!"

"Get me down from here, brainiac!" Peter screamed back at him.

Egon had reached them at the guardrail by the time the dragon made a graceful arch in the air and glided down toward them, wings extended. It looked like a paper airplane coming in to land. A twenty-five foot paper airplane.

"Hey, looks like he's on our side," Ray said with a grin.

"Or maybe he tried to make Pete a snack and just has really bad aim," Winston pointed out. "What happened to the ghosts?"

"They retreated when we vacated the immediate area they've claimed," Egon said, indicating the trees behind them with the hand still holding his PKE meter. The other hand held the largest shard of pottery he had been able to reclaim from the pile. "I believe this explains it. These are the Roman characters for _Genius Loci_ , a benevolent spirit usually bound to a certain place to protect it. The soil I found inside the pottery was most likely from the location the Loci had been protecting. I believe the dragon spirit was purposely bound to the artifacts to help guard against the release of the more aggressive ghosts, and all were set free when they were broken."

In the time it took for Egon to give his conclusion, the dragon had landed. The wind it stirred up was considerable. Not as bad as a helicopter, but Egon had to raise his voice to be heard clearly, and all three of them held up a hand to shield their eyes.

Despite its great size, the dragon pulled in its wings and landed in the road beside Ecto with a dainty little dip, displaying its grace even in the way it curled its tail to avoid striking their vehicle. Peter was still perched on its tall back, clinging to its dark green spines in a death grip. His boots were several feet above the heads of his teammates.

"Hey Pete, Elliot giving you any trouble?" Winston asked innocently.

"Better be respectful, Winston. He could set you on fire." Peter eyed the ground, debating if he could jump down from the creature's back without twisting an ankle. He wanted both feet back on solid ground, immediately or sooner.

Apparently the intelligence of the dragon was enough that it understood the issue. Before Peter could make a move to disembark, its pointed teeth gently closed on the top of Peter's pack and it lifted him down to the ground.

Taken by surprise, Peter squawked with hands flailing, until his boots touched the ground. Then he coughed and tried to reclaim his dignity. The dragon released him and drew its head back, neck arched like a jade swan-green.

"Huh. Yeah, thanks, Smaug." Peter craned his neck to check his pack for monster teeth-sized punctures, then made a face. Dragon slobber smelled just as bad as slime.

"But Peter," Ray said, "he's completely the wrong color for Smaug."

Peter gave Ray a look.


End file.
